


Second Chances

by naruwaifu



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fem!McCoy - Freeform, Florist!Jim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 08:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1850539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naruwaifu/pseuds/naruwaifu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Staggering on her feet, she switched on the lights and could not stop her breath from hitching at the sight that greeted her for the past few weeks. "Jim," she whispered hoarsely. With shaking hands, she touched the still, unresponsive face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chances

With bleary eyes, Lena was woken up from her deep slumber. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, she found out that it was already noon. Oh no, she totally forgot to make her husband's and their daughter's breakfast! She rushed downstairs, heading to the kitchen. As she was walking towards the kitchen, there were many pink coloured crane origamis hanging from the ceiling. 

”What in the world?” she muttered to herself. She unconsciously slowed her footsteps, pretty much used to Jim and Joanna's ridiculous hobby of pranking her. After incidents involving flour, eggs, ketchup, balloons and her very own car, she learnt to be cautious when it came to those two. Better safe than sorry, she thought. 

When she reached the kitchen, she was surprised by Jim and Joanna, who were wearing party hats. Streamers were hung all around the kitchen. 

“Happy birthday!” they shouted in unison. Jim's strong arms automatically found their place around his wife's slim waist, his vibrant blue eyes were shining happily as he gave his wife a quick peck on the lips. 

Joanna, with her brown hair flying behind her, hugged her waist tightly and kissed her cheek, “Happy birthday, Mum!” It was Lena's birthday and they bought a cake to celebrate it. Lena with tears in her eyes, were incredibly touched, hugging her only husband and their lovely daughter for the surprise. It was her favourite cake- chocolate, but with more decorations and burning candles. As she inspected the cake, she realized that it looked like it was made from scratch. By them. 

“Did you guys bake this?” she asked with wide eyes. As far as she was concerned, Jim couldn't cook to save his life and their daughter was only nine, she couldn't have known how to bake a cake. Especially one this beautiful. 

Jim grinned and elbowed Joanna. “Well, we had help from Google,” she supplied helpfully to her mother. Now that she noticed it, the kitchen was in a mess. Flour and cocoa powder were everywhere! Shaking her head at both of them in amusement, she blew the candle as her daughter kept asking her to do so. 

As she blew the candle, suddenly all the origamis were set on fire, and eventually all the things in the house was burning. Lena freaked out, shouting at Jim and Joanna to save themselves. As she was making her way to them, a part of the ceiling fell on her. She was trapped, she couldn't move at all. She was screaming at her husband and daughter to get themselves to safety when suddenly, a huge flame burst to her husband and her daughter. Jim scrambled to save their daughter, and Joanna was shouting, screaming in great pain. She couldn't do anything but watch in horror, as the flame consumed Jim and Joanna, her family, her life. 

With a guttural scream, Lena jolted out of bed. The effects of her dream apparent on herself. Her face was covered in cold sweat and her dark brown hair was plastered to her face. Body shaking, she willed her weak body into a sitting position and wiped furiously at the tears falling down her cheeks. The dream felt like a sick joke. The pretence of happiness, of having a family with Jim, of having a beautiful daughter, it made her feel even worse. Staggering on her feet, she switched on the lights and could not stop her breath from hitching at the sight that greeted her for the past few weeks. 

"Jim," she whispered hoarsely. With shaking hands, she touched the still, unresponsive face. Jim looked perfectly at ease, with his blonde eyelashes resting on top of his cheeks and his soft, even breathing. It didn't reveal the fact that he hasn't woken up for twenty dreadful days. She caused it. She caused the whole thing. She would never forgive herself for endangering this annoying, sweet, perfect man. The man who barrelled into her life without a care. The caring florist who held her as she completely broke down because of her father's death. The one who was always there, when things mattered the most, when she was in need of someone. He was always there. What started as an unlikely friendship ended up as more. Why would she ever hurt him? Lost in her thoughts, she remembered how Jim came into her life.

It was her father's third death anniversary, she opted to pick up the flowers for her father on behalf of her mother from the Enterprise, a newly opened flower shop in the neighbourhood. She wasn't a jovial person to begin with. On that particular day, she was in a sombre mood. She didn't react nicely to her father's passing and despite it being the third year, it was still a sore subject that tore her heart apart. She entered the quaint shop, expecting an old lady to be standing behind the counter. Instead, she saw a blonde man around her age, bending over a flower pot, arranging the flowers in a peculiar manner. As her heels clicked on the shop's floor, the man stood up and Lena was momentarily stunned by the vibrant blue eyes staring back at her. 

"Yes, how may I help you?" The man said politely. 

"I'm Elizabeth McCoy's daughter, and she ordered flowers from you. I'm here to pick them up, since she's not well today," Lena said in a clipped tone. 

"Liz? Right, I have her order right here. Just wait for a second," he rushed to a room behind the counter and walked out with a bouquet of flower. He set it on the counter. 

Lena stared at it. The manner in which the flowers were arranged were so precise and beautiful, she could feel the warmth exuding. Just like her father. Unnoticed, tears started welling up in her hazel-green eyes. Without any warning, she fell hard on her knees on the floor, heart wrenching sobs tore out of her throat. Alarmed, the man hopped over the counter and pulled her into his arms. Lena never broke down in front of a stranger but she was so high strung and emotionally compromised, she was past the point of caring. The man surprisingly held her close with a firm grip as the walls she carefully built across the years completely broke down. When she was done, instead of asking what brought it on, he merely nodded and resumed wrapping up her order. She silently thanked him and proceeded to walk out of the shop. 

That night, she learnt from her mother that his name was Jim. 

Two days have passed before Lena stepped into Jim's shop again. Holding a cup of hot coffee in one hand, she walked slowly to the counter, where Jim was scribbling into his notebook. Peeking stealthily, Lena managed to see what Jim was doing. 

"Are you drawing pictures of flowers?" Lena asked incredulously. 

With a jolt, Jim finally noticed that he was not alone in the shop and closed his notebook hastily. "It's rude to peek without permission!" He huffed in annoyance. 

Mouth twitching at his reaction, Lena apologized. "I'm truly sorry for startling you. I assure you that wasn't my intention." 

Sensing the genuineness of her words, he accepted her apology. "Weird tendencies of startling poor strangers aside, what are you doing here?" He asked curiously. He is quite close to Elizabeth and he knows that she has a daughter, even if he never met her before. So why would he cross paths with this striking young woman for the second time in a few days all of a sudden? Interestingly, a pink flush crept onto her cheeks. 

"Uh, well, you see," she stuttered, "I bought a cup of coffee for you, as a thank you for that... incident, that occurred during my last visit," she managed to get out in her embarrassment. 

"You mean the time when we had fun cuddling on the floor?" He retorted in a playful manner. "There's no need to thank me, I'm pretty sure I'd love to do it again. It's not everyday that I have a beautiful woman in my arms," he said cheekily. 

Feeling the heat flooding in her cheeks, Lena proceeded to shove the cup of coffee in Jim's hands and walked out from the shop hurriedly. She managed to take five steps when her right arm was gently pulled back by a hand. Jim's. The cup of coffee was in his other hand. 

"Jim, let go of me." 

"How come you know my name but I don't know yours? This is unfair." Jim playfully pouted. 

"Seriously, I need to go now, I have work to do." 

"Will you grace me with the presence of your name first, my lady?" 

Lena couldn't believe this man. "Fine. It's McCoy. Lena McCoy," she hissed at him. 

"Jim. Jim Kirk. Nice meeting you, Lena, " he bowed. "Also, I'm allergic to coffee. So I'm treating you a cup of coffee instead. Have a nice day!" He winked and unceremoniously shoved the cup of coffee into her hands. He all but ran into his shop like it was on fire. 

"Who in the world is allergic to coffee, out of all things?" Lena blurted incredulously. Staring at the still warm cup of coffee in her hands and the flower shop, she has undoubtedly met the most illogical man in the planet. 

For reasons she couldn't figure out until today, she kept going back to the flower shop. Either for the outrageously creative flower arrangement made by Jim, or the weird florist himself. Over the span of time, they became friends and later, the best of friends. They complemented each other perfectly. They kept each other firm on the ground. Brutally honest with each other, it became the foundation of their friendship and later, relationship. 

If only she didn't react badly to his good intentions. He proposed to her, for God's sake. And what did she do in return? She left him hanging without any explanation, and proceeded to walk out from the classy restaurant they were in. She was sobbing. She couldn't bring herself to accept Jim's proposal when she only has months to live. Jim never knew about her stomach cancer. She was in Stage 4. She was losing the battle. She couldn't do it to Jim, to leave him in sadness for the rest of his life just because she was apparently unlucky and had to leave him much earlier.   
In her sadness, she dashed in front of a speeding truck, without realizing it. All she saw was a blinding white light, extreme noise and someone calling out her name. The next thing she knew, she woke up heavily bandaged on a hospital bed with a pounding headache. She later found out that Jim, pushed her out of harm's way and took the brunt of worse injuries himself. The doctors were forced to put him in a medically induced coma to preserve his brain functions. The chances of Jim ever waking up was terribly low. 

Lena gripped his pale hand, sorrow filling her heart at the sight of her own hand. She was wearing the ring that Jim proposed her with. It was a beautiful ring, white gold with an emerald at the centre. It was his mother's. Tears welling up in her hazel-green eyes, she fell hard on her knees, heart-wrenching sobs tearing out of her throat. Lena was shaken out of her sorrow by the rustling of the bed. Jim's. 

“Jim?” she asked hopefully as she scrambled to his bedside. 

His eyelids fluttered open and once again, she was treated to the sight of those beautiful baby blues. Eyes roaming wildly, trying to make sense of what was going on, before they settled on her. Her knees went weak, being the focus of those piercing gaze. 

“Lena?” he called out. 

Rushing to his side, she gripped his hand. “I'm here, Jim. I'm here,” voice cracking, she whispered. 

“Don't leave me alone, please,” he begged in a broken plea. 

Heart visibly breaking as she heard his request, she pulled him into her arms and held him loosely, cautious of his still healing body. She rested her forehead gently against his and promised him fiercely, “Never again, Jim, never again.” 


End file.
